How To Get Rid of Raccoons

DO IT YOURSELF TIPS:
- Keep pet food indoors. Same for bird food or any other attractant.
- Strap garbage can lids down with bungee cords.
- Place chicken wire or plywood with nails sticking up on swimming pool steps.
- If it is legal in your area, you can shoot the raccoon, but I don't really recommend this.
- Most important - seal shut entry holes into your house. Install a steel chimney cap, make sure vent screens are bolted in, secure pet door, etc.

HIRE A PROFESSIONAL IF:
- You need the animal trapped and removed from the property. Read here about can I trap it myself?
- Raccoons have gotten into your attic, or any other part of the inside of the building.
- You need raccoon feces cleaned out of the attic space.

TACTICS THAT WON'T WORK:
- Repellents, such as mothballs, ammonia, predator urine, and sound machines are ineffective at deterring raccoons. This has been proven repeatedly, by government studies and trappers like me.
- Poisons, such as rat poison, antifreeze, etc. are a bad idea, because they rarely work. They're more likely to make the animal sick, or often a non-target animal, like a dog or cat, will eat the poison. Plus this tactic is not legal.

Raccoons can prove to be a challenge for any homeowner. Once a reliable
shelter or food source has been discovered, these intelligent animals will return as often as they can to reap the benefits. If the problem goes unchecked for a long period of time, raccoons will often move into the attic of the home, into the garage, or into the neighboring tree line. Sometimes it’s not your home that is a problem; a neighbor’s home can provide the food, yet the raccoons decide they like your attic instead. In neighborhoods, this can prove to be a difficult problem to solve.

The first consideration when it comes to getting rid of raccoons is: Why are they there? All wild animals are driven by the basic necessities of life. Yes, a raccoon may like your attic for its warm and quiet atmosphere, but without a nearby food supply, chances are you wouldn’t have a raccoon investigating your home in the first place. If you keep your trash outside, be sure to place edible waste in bags prior to placing it in the can. This will help to seal off any attractive odors. The garbage can should have a tightly fitted lid, and the lid should be attached to the can by way of bungee cords or another locking mechanism. Raccoons are known for their ingenuity when it comes to opening containers, and once they learn how to do it, they will retain the information for years.

In addition to garbage, any pet food should be kept off of porches or patios. Raccoons are not the only wild animals that are drawn to pet food. Feeding your pet inside the home is a good idea. If you can’t accommodate that recommendation, consider feeding your pet outside but immediately removing the bowl when the pet abandons it. If you are one of the kindhearted souls who leave out food for strays, be prepared to have visitation from wild animals.

Once you’ve scoured your property and removed the tempting tidbits of food, you need to look at the state of your home’s structure. Sometimes your habits aren’t the problem, and your neighbor may be the reason a raccoon is around.
For this reason, making sure there are no entry portals into your home and attic is very important. Raccoons are very dexterous and can rip open a way into a house if even a small hole exists. Seal all openings regardless of size.

If the issue has progressed, and you are now sharing your living space with a raccoon or family of raccoons, you will need to review your options. Various raccoon repellents are on the market, some commercial, some home remedies. Mothballs,
predator urine, ultrasonic emitters, sound enhancers—the list goes on. Unfortunately, most of these deterrents are ineffectual. Mothballs have been proven worthless in countless trials, and the little, white, pungent balls are actually a dangerous
carcinogen. Predator urine will make a raccoon wary, but most animals are smart enough to use all of their senses to detect danger. Just because a place smells like a dog doesn’t mean the dog is really there. Clearly dog scent has little effect on
raccoons eating out of dog food bowls. Sound emitters can be helpful, as one of the reasons the raccoon is in your attic is because it is quiet and warm, but bear in mind that you will have to put up with the sound as well. Ultrasonic sounds won’t help you; just because the raccoon can hear them doesn’t mean they bother the animal.

Poison is never recommended for pest removal. If you poison a raccoon living in your home, chances are that animal will crawl into a tight space and die (and it will be a long, agonizing death) and then the smell will linger for months unless the carcass is removed. Worse yet, if that raccoon had infants, the babies will eventually starve and die, adding more potency to the smell already wafting through your home.

Trapping and removing raccoons is the most effective way to deal with them. It is notably difficult to catch a raccoon in a trap; you will have to outsmart the raccoon. Leave your trap in the area frequented for a few days, unset.
Place some food inside the trap and allow the raccoon to take it and eat it. Eventually, the animal will drop its guard and enter the trap without a second thought. You can read more raccoon trapping tips here.
Some states prohibit or limit the contact a home owner can have with a wild animal,
especially a raccoon due to their high risk of carrying rabies. Be sure to check with your local government about trapping raccoons, because it is illegal to trap them in many states, and also illegal to relocate them. If you are allowed
to make the attempt, be prepared to relocate the raccoon or to turn it over to wildlife professional. Further complications will include the gathering of offspring. For the untrained person, it is almost impossible to determine if a raccoon is
male or female, and a litter of babies may be hidden cleverly inside the home. Due to the difficulty level of this pest animal, it may be in your best interests to hire a professional to eliminate the problems adults and to determine if babies
are present in the home. If so, they must be removed by hand.

Do You Need Help? I wrote this website to provide information on How To Get Rid of Raccoons in the case that you have
a raccoon problem and need to make an informed decision about what to do. If you
have any questions you may email me, but I do know from experience
that raccoon removal is not simple. If you need professional help solving your
wildlife conflict, I recommend that you talk to a professional raccoon
control expert in your town by clicking on my National Wildlife Control
directory, which lists experts who I recommend in every USA city and town who can
help you with your raccoon issue.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons in the Attic
Raccoons in the attic are trouble. Not only do they tear apart your insulation and other structural materials, they leave food waste and feces everywhere they go. Even if waste and destruction were not enough of a reason for raccoon control, these animals are extremely loud and disruptive when they live inside of a home. To get rid of raccoons in your attic, you need to prevent them from getting inside. Most states prohibit civilian handling of raccoons due to the high prevalence of rabies among the species. If you have a problem raccoon in the attic and are unable to get the animal to leave (perhaps it’s sick or injured), call a professional to remove the animal. Raccoons are easily trapped in live traps and can be relocated into a less populated area or euthanized based on the circumstances of capture. Once the raccoon is removed, it is very important to completely seal up any holes leading into your attic. Raccoons can create large holes from small ones, so do not ignore the tiny cracks and openings along your roof. If not a raccoon, a squirrel or a mouse will surely find the opening inviting.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons in the Garage
Garages are often the targets for raccoons. The quiet, dark garage is ideal for a tiny mammal to seek shelter in, and most people pack their garages full of things other than cars. Garages are also rarely temperature controlled, so homeowners don’t always spend a lot of time worrying about holes in the foundations or missing windows. Garbage bags and pet food are often stored in garages, another reason why raccoons choose to wander in. To get rid of a raccoon in the garage, you need have the animal trapped and removed. Raccoons pose a serious health risk to humans, so it is never advisable to attempt to remove a raccoon without the proper equipment or assistance. Some state have regulations regarding trapping raccoons, so make sure it is a situation you can handle before making the attempt. Because raccoons are easily trapped, live trapping is very successful with these mammals. Once the raccoon has been removed from the area, seal up all cracks, broken windows, loose siding and so on. Be careful to secure garbage and pet food. Once a raccoon has detected food, they will try to figure out a way to get to it. Proper home maintenance is almost always the first step in nuisance animal control.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons in the House
A raccoon in the house can be a tricky dilemma. It is not uncommon for these little creatures to wander in through pet doors or open windows, looking for food. The raccoon has a very indiscriminate palate, and it really does not take much of a draw to lure them into a home. Pet food is a favorite among many wild animals, so food left out on a porch overnight will usually lure in some guests. If the raccoon is inside the main part of your home, it may have mistakenly entered the living space because it has been seeking shelter in your roof or attic. The inquisitive nature of raccoons often leads them into trouble, so a forlorn critter trapped in the kitchen may not be so rare of an occurrence. If there is a raccoon in your home, do not approach it. Raccoons are a known carrier of rabies, and most state health departments advise against unnecessary contact. If one of these creatures is trapped, confine the animal to one area of the home and call a professional immediately for removal. When the raccoon is safely out of the house, do some investigating and find out how it entered in the first place. Secure all doors and windows. Investigate your attic. Does it look like a raccoon has been living up there? If so, the wildlife professional should be able to investigate to make sure no complicating factors—like baby raccoons—are present.

How to Get Rid of Raccoons in the Yard
If you are having an issue with raccoons in your yard, chances are there is something appealing about your property. Raccoons are nocturnal and will generally avoid human contact, but they are decidedly brave when it comes to ransacking yards for food. Because the raccoon will eat almost anything, gardens, garbage containers, compost piles and pet food bowls are all likely targets. Keep your yard free of unnecessary food waste; make sure your garbage cans are secured; keep pet food picked up when the pet is done with it. If you have a garden, consider placing a fence around it. Raccoons are industrious climbers, so fencing does not always keep them out. They are opportunistic, and like most nuisance animals, do not want to work too hard for a meal. If a fence around your garden makes them think twice about entering, then it is well worth the hassle. Raccoons will also invade a yard if they feel there is a safe place to create a den or to raise young. A yard with no predators, no noise and ample vegetation will be more appealing to a raccoon than a yard with no trees, no gardens, and a dog running around outside. Households bordering the wood line will be more prone to problems since raccoons do not have to live in the yard to invade it from time to time.